


drabble collections

by parkjinchu



Category: ASTRO (Band)
Genre: Angst, Drabble, Drabble Collection, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2019-09-12 10:47:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16871530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/parkjinchu/pseuds/parkjinchu
Summary: written responses to drabble gamesit's been a long time since i have produced anything (due to school and personal life) but im back and ready to kick off!this is a work of fiction, and in no way represents the real lives of astro's members. in case of astro/fantagio/reasonable fan request, this fic will be taken downread full disclaimer on my profile





	drabble collections

**Author's Note:**

> these are mostly unedited as i just need to write and write to get back into the right frame of mind. it's been about six-odd months since i wrote anything worthwhile!

_**"hey, hey, calm down. they can't hurt you anymore,"** _

* * *

When they had first started seeing each other – when Minhyuk’s cheeks sparked with heat at even the _sound_ of Dongmin’s voice – he had mentioned with some nonchalance that he frequently experienced nightmares. Dongmin had expressed concern, to which Minhyuk became flustered, coiling behind the drink in his hands. He had moved the concern to the back of his mind, a seemingly useless fact about the guy he fancied, that tightened the fabrication of knowledge on him in his mind.

When they first started dating, Minhyuk had cancelled a date, sorrowfully and lethargically groaning about fatigue over the phone line. Assuming he had fallen sick, Dongmin gathered ingredients together for a chicken soup, only to turn up to Minhyuk’s apartment and find him completely healthy – though the purple bags under his eyes were troubling. Minhyuk had welcomed him inside with a delighted grin, a peck on the lips, and an off-hand comment about how bad his nightmares were getting. Dongmin allows the memory of one of their first dates to float to the surface of his mind, a buoy in an endless ocean of memorised facts about Minhyuk.

It was not until Minhyuk began to favour Dongmin’s quieter, emptier apartment, that Dongmin realised just how bad his boyfriend’s problem was. They had been dating for almost a year and a half, and Minhyuk’s drawer of personal belongings at Dongmin’s had turned into an entire dresser and almost one half of the closet. “I have all my favourite clothes here, _and_ my toothbrush,” the younger boy said, one afternoon, nose buried in Dongmin’s pillow. “Why should I bother to go back to my apartment?”

Dongmin laughed, throwing his towel at his boyfriend’s head. “Because, you pay your share of rent there, and not _here_.”

“Yeah, and Bin is fucking his boyfriend _there, and not here_ ,” Minhyuk echoes, only to receive a snort from Dongmin. “It’s nice here. Quiet. Just you and me. Peaceful,” he decides quietly, tucking his nose into Dongmin’s elected side of the bed, breathing in deeply.

That night, Minhyuk _had_ gone back to his apartment, only to retrieve an old book Dongmin had always wanted to read. He stayed the night on his allotted side of the bed, his fingers clutched around Dongmin’s upper arm, comfortably secure as the older man read himself to sleep.

It was fairly late when Dongmin awoke to the fingers around his bicep squeezing. He stirred, eyes falling on the digital clock. _2:32_. He groans lightly, reaching over to pry his smaller boyfriend’s fingers from his arm, to stop the tingling in his fingers. As he goes to pull away from Minhyuk’s clutch, he notices the boy quivering.

The lights outside, the bright orange streetlight and the city-stained purple sky, bleed in through the window. Minhyuk is bathed in the eerie glow, his sweating skin glistening. Suddenly, Dongmin can feel the heat radiating off his boyfriend’s body. He tugs his arm out of Minhyuk’s grasp, only for the shorter boy to reach out a desperate hand for him. When he finds nothing, he cries out, curling in on himself.

Confused, alarmed, horrified, scared – Dongmin sits up in their bed as the wheel of emotions in his head makes him dizzy. He had never seen Minhyuk like this, so vulnerable and fearful. The boy was rambling slurred sentences, of which Dongmin can only pick up words like, ‘please’ and ‘go away’. He felt his heart rate accelerate, and he had no idea what to do.

He scanned through memories in his brain, trying to remember an occasion where Minhyuk actually told him what he did during one of his terrible nightmares. Unable to remember anything, he flicks his bedside light on and sits up.

Minhyuk had begun to thrash, his legs kicking about and his arms flailing in Dongmin’s direction, all whilst his shoulders hunch and hide his scrunched face. He reaches over to brush Minhyuk’s hair out of his face, only to be punched in the chest by one of his boyfriend’s uncontrollable hands. He wheezes, swatting Minhyuk’s arm out of the way and pinning it to the bed.

With his free hand, he pushes the damp and sweaty clumps of hair off Minhyuk’s forehead, cringing slightly at how sticky he was. “Shh,” he calls, quietly, combing his fingers over the smaller boy’s scalp. “Shh,” he repeats, continuously, pinning his weight on Minhyuk’s thrashing legs.

Slowly, but surely, the sleeping boy begins to calm, his tense body going lax under Dongmin’s ministrations. “It’s okay, baby,” Dongmin whispers, into the night, when Minhyuk tries to tug himself free from his entrapment. He feels the boy shudder beneath him, and then, an onslaught of tears erupts from Minhyuk’s chest.

“Hey, hey, calm down,” Dongmin whispers, pulling Minhyuk into his arms, one hand rubbing at his back, the other massaging his scalp. He isn’t sure what to say, so murmurs, “They can’t hurt you anymore.” He presses a kiss to Minhyuk’s temple, as the boy sobs into his chest.

“Min, Min,” the boy whimpers, calling out to him. His fingers curl into Dongmin’s t-shirt, damp from his tears.

Dongmin hushes him, gently. “It’s okay, I’m here, I’m here,” he coos, feeling the adrenaline bleed out of him. He feels a yawn climb up his throat but fights against it. Minhyuk props his chin up on Dongmin’s chest, his puffy eyes wide and full of pain. “You had a nightmare,” Dongmin recites, only because he is unsure of what to say. He had never seen Minhyuk so distraught in the two years he had known and loved him.

The younger boy sniffs, his nose scrunching up. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think I would. I haven’t had any nightmares since I started staying here,” he confesses, eyes blinking tiredly. It hits Dongmin then, why Minhyuk was so adamant about staying.

“Why are you apologising, baby?” Dongmin asks, tucking a long piece of Minhyuk’s hair out of his face. “You can’t help it.”

Minhyuk ignores him. “I woke you up. Did I hurt you?”

The elder laughs, “You _did_ punch me in the chest,” he chimes, and Minhyuk chews on his lip, ashamed. Dongmin brushes his thumb over his lip, pulling it out so Minhyuk doesn’t draw blood. “Nothing a kiss won’t fix,” he smiles, and Minhyuk dips his head to peck him through his t-shirt.

“There,” he sighs, melting further into the bedsheets. “Much better,” he giggles, and Minhyuk laughs, too.

Minhyuk falls asleep like this, strewn over Dongmin’s chest, and the rest of the night is peaceful. Dongmin makes a promise to himself, and to Minhyuk, to protect him through his next nightmare, and the rest that follow.

__

**Author's Note:**

> this one was requested by @changbinnies on twitter! thank you so much! i loved writing this and i hope you liked it too! ill get onto your other ones shortly :)


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